It looks like you are using an out of date version of your browser - due to enhanced securityrequirements protecting customers, we will no longer support this browser version as of June 2017 and you will need to update it in order to access virginmedia.com website

When you're on your journey, you may find that your phone connects to a different mobile network to normal. The costs of these networks can be a lot higher, so we recommend turning your phone off during your journey to your destination, or using Airplane mode where allowed on your flight. Check with your travel provider for exact details of the mobile options available on your trip.

There are always lots of things to remember to do when you get to your destination. For your phone it's really quite simple.

As soon as you arrive, switch on your phone and you’ll automatically connect to one of our partner networks. If you receive a text message saying PERS – just ignore it – it’s just us making sure you’re on the best network.

Data roaming Data roaming

If you don’t need to stay on top of your emails, while you’re away, it makes sense to switch off data roaming. That way your phone won’t be quietly using the internet to automatically update itself and building you a bigger bill. Most phones love connecting to the web, and they’ll be doing that to update your phone’s software, or even location, without you necessarily knowing.

Our tariff guide lists the data cap values – check it out here if you're a pay monthly customer, or here if you're a PAYG customer.

The roaming data cap will reset monthly on the 1st of each month.

Going somewhere in a Roam Like Home country near the EU border? Sometimes your mobile phone can connect to a network from outside the EU instead, which means you’ll be charged extra for roaming. To avoid these extra charges, we recommend turning your roaming off while you’re there. Please also check any welcome SMS messages you get when you arrive in these areas and the relevant roaming prices stated.

Travelling in the EU

Remember, if you're in the EU, you can use your data allowance as you would in the UK subject to our Fair Usage Policy.

If you’re on one of our 4G plans, when roaming in the EU you’ll connect to a 4G roaming service where available, and benefit from data free messaging on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Twitter. Please be aware that some networks may block messaging apps. See Data-free messaging on Virgin Mobile for more details.

If you've got a data rollover, this will work whilst travelling in the EU but is still subject to fair use limits.

Travelling outside the EU

If you’re travelling outside the EU, you won’t be able to use your UK allowances.

If you’ve switched on roaming, you’ll be charged for any calls, texts and data you use when abroad, and your data usage will be charged per Megabyte.

All Virgin Mobile customers on our 4G plans benefit from 4G data while abroad on any of our roaming partners that support the 4G roaming service.

Use WiFi Use WiFi

Using data while you’re abroad won’t cost the earth if you’re just checking the football scores or sending an email, but it could get pricey if you start watching videos or listening to music. Look out for a free Wi-Fi network while you’re abroad. That way you can stay online without racking up the cost.

You may find that your hotel or a nearby café has Wi-Fi, and they’ll be able to tell you whether it’s free or not. They’ll also be able to tell you if you’ll need a password to connect to their network. Connecting to Wi-Fi means you can get online and keep data roaming switched off.

Using your phone for calls and texts Using your phone for calls and texts

When you're abroad your phone will recieve calls and texts automatically. But to make calls or send texts when abroad, you'll need to check you've got an international dialling code as part of the number.

To add the international dialling code to a number, hold down the '0' key on your phone's keypad until you see '+' instead. Then you'll need to add the country code for the number. You'll need to do the same in your device's contacts for a saved number.

So for a UK number, drop the inital 0, then add '+' and then the UK country code 44 e.g. +44777 123 456.

For a non-UK number, drop the inital 0, then add '+' and then add the country code.

So you’ve got them handy, here are all the dialling codes for countries you might visit in the EU:

UK +44

Spain +34

France +33

Italy +39

Germany +49

Ireland +353

Greece +30

Netherlands +31

Portugal +351

Belgium +32

Switzerland +41

NOTE: If you're using an app such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, then this will continue to work without the international dialling code.

What you pay for:

In the EU you will be able to make calls, send texts and use data just as you would in the UK subject to our Fair Use Policy

Outside the EU you will be charged to make and receive calls, and send messages

Picking up voicemail Picking up voicemail

If someone leaves you a voicemail, you can listen to it like normal. Receiving voicemail messages is free of charge. In the EU listening to voicemail will cost the same as it would at home, subject to our Fair Use Policy. Outside of the EU you’ll be charged listening to voicemail at the call rate for the region you’re in.

To pick up your messages, access your voicemail, press the # key, and enter your voicemail PIN (which you’ll have set up at home).

For details on how to set up voicemail and voicemail PIN, see Before You Go.

Using Mobile Data Using Mobile Data

Whether you want to check the weather, tweet a picture of the view or update your Facebook status and make everyone green with envy, it’s easy to stay connected.

Data cap limits

Post-trip blues are bad enough without nasty surprises lurking in your mobile bill. So we’ll cap your data roaming usage at £51.50 (unless you tell us otherwise), and text you when you’ve hit 80% of your roaming usage (£41.20), and another when you’ve hit your limit.

The roaming data cap will reset monthly on the 1st of each month.

Travelling in the EU

You can now use your UK data allowance with Roam Like Home. This means that while you’re travelling in an EU country you’ll be able to use data just as you would in the UK, subject to fair use limits. This includes any data rollover you have.

If you don’t have a data allowance, or your allowance has run out, you can still use Mobile Data wherever you are in the EU and pay no more than you would in the UK.

If you’re on one of our 4G plans, when roaming in the EU you’ll connect to a 4G roaming service where available, and benefit from data free messaging on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Twitter. Please be aware that some networks may block messaging apps. See Data-free messaging on Virgin Mobile for more details.

Going somewhere in a Roam Like Home country near the EU border? Sometimes your mobile phone can connect to a network from outside the EU instead, which means you’ll be charged extra for roaming. To avoid these extra charges, we recommend turning your roaming off while you’re there. Please also check any welcome SMS messages you get when you arrive in these areas and the relevant roaming prices stated.

No network coverage No network coverage

Firstly, you can check that you’re all set up to use your phone abroad by simply logging into Your Account or calling +44 7458 333 789.

It’s also a good idea to check that there’s network coverage where you are. See Roaming Costs to check the coverage in the country you’re visiting.

You can also try turning the phone off and then back on again. Sounds simple, but it'll refresh the network signal on your phone and, more often than not, it does the trick. If that doesn't work, you can try a manual network search. Here's how:

Go into Settings on your phone

Now go to Phone Settings

Then choose Network Selection

Select Manual network selection instead of Automatic and let the phone search for available networks. This might take up to a minute

Now you should have a list of networks you can use

If your phone has a removable battery and you are still stuck, try what we call a hard reboot. Just remove the battery from your phone without turning it off first, then wait about 20 minutes before putting it back in and switching the phone on.